When he finally turned around, the businessman Detroit called ruthless looked almost embarrassed.
“The board votes in eight days.”
“On what?”
“The final redevelopment agreement.”
“And you need the community trustee to approve it?”
“Yes.”
I looked at my mother’s signature.
Then at the eviction notice still folded inside my purse.
Then at a man who could solve my financial problems without noticing the cost.
The timing suddenly felt far too convenient.
“Did you know who I was in that garage?”
Harlan’s answer came immediately.
“No.”
“Did you know before you sent Theo to the diner?”
“Yes.”
The distinction mattered.
I wasn’t sure why.
I looked down at my mother’s letter again.
There were three more pages.
And somewhere in them was a truth June Callaway had waited twenty-two years to tell me.
A truth tied to the Meridian.
To Eleanor Voss.
And somehow to the powerful man standing across from me.
